I left Ireland in my early 20's, destination: New York City. A rags to riches story ensued but in my forties a showdown in my battle with Alcoholism nearly killed me.
Sobering up in '09, I had to get out of Florida, so February 2010 I hit the road for a few months on my 1150 BMW GS....and never went back.
My motorcycle is now a 2 Wheel Drive sidecar outfit and my "3 Wheels, 7 Continents, 7 Years" Expedition is now half way around the world.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

KARU MC PORONPURIJAISET...Turbo Edition Part II

More TURBO's from Finland..

In my haste to get last Sundays article finished and live here on Wherethehellismurph, I completely forgot to publish about another 25+ photos I had lined up. There were more of this H-D Shovelhead Turbo sidecar outfit that I took, along with some other pics from the Poronpurijaiset. This Sundays post is, for the most part, a picture post with not too much of my inner thoughts, ramblings and insight included, mainly because what I had in mind to write about doesn't really jive or relate much to all the images that I'm putting up today. I remember a while back I did a few blog surveys asking readers to chime in on whether they prefer less photos or more writing, once a week, once every two weeks etc. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that asking readers what they preferred totally negated the uniqueness and "in the moment" style of my articles. Not that I don't care about what readers think, but if I start to write and tailor it for readers, I think it will lose the whole "throw caution to the wind" flavor and reasoning behind this trip, and subsequently, this photo-journal and blog.I write about what I feel and am going through at the time, I write about what and who I encounter, and about things that happen along my way, along my original "Get out of Florida" trip. I don't want this journey and travelogue to become streamlined or commercial, which is why I don't have sponsors anymore. I get help from readers, people like you reading this right now, and some companies who donate products, but no financial support. It's not their trip, it's mine, and I don't want to feel that they own part of me in any way.I'm Irish. Pig headed and stubborn. My therapist Ray, back when I was in rehab 5 years ago, called me a coconut head.And BTW, this little Pthat appears in the top left of each photo as your pointer hovers on it is if you are a Pinterest fan and want to pin any of my photos to your boards.

Pin me to your board.

Meanwhile....

At first glance, which was in last Sundays post, this H-D Shovelhead Turbo seems like a POS, but the more I looked at it, the more thought and details came through on it, and I realized that there was a considerable amount of time, effort and design put into it, rather than the haphazard slapped together look that it gives off.

Of course, I could be wrong, I didn't talk to the owner in detail about it. But I've tried the rat-bike look before, and to do it right takes some forethought and planning. It's not easy to pull of right. It's an art in and of itself.

I never did find out what that roll of Duct Tape was for.

He did mention that it wasn't exactly a smooth riding outfit. But it's still a really cool looking build and very well put together.

It's not everyones cup of tea, but I do admire the creativity and ingenuity that went into it.

There were quite a few Turbo bikes at the Poronpurijaiset, all Shoveleads, all except for one Evo.

And Seppo was there with his Turbo Shovelhead called "Dead End". This bike has been featured in many magazines up here in Finland.

Meanwhile, great bikes just kept rolling in the Karu MC Poronpurijaiset, all types of machinery, and not just limited to Harleys either.

Like this "Mad Max" style Suzuki Café.

And then there was an "Oh shit, am I at the right rally" moment.

I spotted this old BMW looking like it was being stalked and surrounded by all those loud, oily and nasty Harley Davidson's.

"Sorry, Harley parking only".

The owner, Arvid, bought the bike, a 1956 BMW R60 complete in 2000 and something, but it had a split crank. Took him 5 years to get it running again. It's #343 out of 3000+ units of this particular model made.

The tank is a Hoske 8.5 gl. (33 Lt) tank. not a Heinrich tank like I initially thought.

Ernst Hoske manufactured aftermarket accessories for older BMW's, mostly fuel tanks. Karl Heinrich designed fuel tanks that were made from the 1960's through the 1980's. They usually came in either 8.5 gl or 11 gl capacity, although I have seen a larger 50+ litre version Heinrich adventure tank on a motorcycle forum before.

Both Hoske and Heinrich tanks had a built in toolbox recessed into the top of the tank.

These tanks are becoming rarer and rarer today, so their price is skyrocketing. You can't touch one, even in bad condition, for less than $2000. They are extremely sought after and very beautiful tanks that in my opinion make a good looking bike look even better.

And speaking of beautiful tanks, Marko Tuomas was doing some really great pin-striping at the event, turning plain tanks into really unique pieces and giving them a character all of their own. Personalization people, thats what it's all about. Make it yours.

Original and personal.

Making pea soup for 500 people.

There are 2 important things to remember when making and eating pea soup. The first is to skim off the sudsy foam on the top as the peas cook.

The second is to always stand downwind of anyone eating pea soup.

This is Pepe, being Pepe.

Doing his thing and keeping the fun rolling along.

This is Sirpa with her 1995 883 H-D Sportster. She's ridden the bike for the last 11 years and just last year rebuilt it as a hardtail bobber.

I like how the color scheme is done, with the unusual, slightly tribal looking designs highlighting the gas and oil tank.

Excellent job Sirpa, really nice job you did.

Yes, it's really that wide. This bike runs a 240 tire on the front, same as on the back.

Simple Chopper.

Complicated Chopper.

Coffin Tank Chopper.

Colorful Candy and Gold Leaf Chopper.

I'm not into baggers, but this one was nicely done.

The rolling dyno, otherwise known as the "Great Equalizer".

For enquiring minds, he was able to squeeze out 26.5 hp.

Ilkka Heiska.

I met Ilkka at Poronpurijaiset, one of the many interesting people that this gathering of friends seems to attract each year for the last 30 years.

Ilkka is a shoemaker and leatherman from Varkaus in the south of Finland. One of those great Finnish craftspeople that I love to come across, those who are carrying on the old ways and traditions.

These are some photo's he sent me of some of the different types of work he does.

Ilkka ended up donating to me his hammock, made out of Parachute material.

Thank you Ilkka, a very thoughtful and wonderful gift from you indeed.

I haven't been down south of Finland yet. There just seems to be one thing after another that has hindered my plans and stopped me from going.

I was supposed to go south to Tampere immediately after Poronpurijaiset, but after having a bit of an accident with a tree stump at the event and ripping off the left side pannier and bending the rear sub-frame, that trip had to be postponed.

You can't see it, but there's a tire groove worn into the dirt track. When my front wheel caught in the groove it pulled the outfit sharply to the left as I was coming down and right over the tree stump.

The outfit does this a lot, catches grooves in the road and pulls it sharply to one side or the other.

I'm not sure if it's a tire problem or a sidecar problem. Ad at LBS said it's because it's a sidecar, they do that. I have a hard time comprehending this. I've never heard of other outfits doing this.

The tree stump just ripped the pannier right off the bike.

This shot shows how the sub-frame is twisted all over to the right.

One end on the bike, the other end on the tow ball of Timo's car.

Since I've come back from the Poronpurijaiset, with Timo Happonens help, the subframe and pannier have been repaired.

Now it's on to the next problem. At best it's a drive shaft output bearing, at worst it's a transmission. I'll find out more next week when I disassemble the back end of the bike. So my travel plans of going south are, yet again, on hold.

The positive is that I'm charmed to be at Karu MC to be able to do these repairs, instead of on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. I'm sure that someday that will happen, but for now, that's one thing I don't have to go through.

I don't know what it is about the Finns, but they seem to love to torture themselves with these solid metal and wire seats.

I'm digging the dual throat Weber? tho, and that Monza style oil cap.

This is Teemu Lindfors gorgeous S&S Shovelhead chopper.

An old style kidney generator bottom end with split valve covers on the top.

It's a really clean build, and the understated color just sets this bike right off.

Bye for now.

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